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Tequila y Mezcal


NoRagrets

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On 4/19/2024 at 9:59 PM, rage-a-holic said:

I don't get the whole idea behind paying for expensive non-smoky mezcal. 

It's like people complaining about wanting gin without the gin/juniper flavor. You don't have to spend money finding/buying flavorless gin...just drink vodka. 

I personally would never do it.  It's like decaf coffee... what's the point?

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My folks are headed to Mexico outside of Cancun. They're offering to be agave mules for me.  Is there anything they should seek out that might be limited or non existent here?  What would be the cost difference between getting things there than here typically? Thanks in advance. 

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11 hours ago, SmokeyTheBear said:

My folks are headed to Mexico outside of Cancun. They're offering to be agave mules for me.  Is there anything they should seek out that might be limited or non existent here?  What would be the cost difference between getting things there than here typically? Thanks in advance. 

Honestly I don't know if it's worth their time, especially if they're going to be in a touristy area. A lot of what you see in Mexico is the typical Herradura, Jimador, Patron, etc stuff that you can get anywhere here. Similar prices, too. Maybe if they were going to Jalisco or something I could see it.

I just passed through the Cancun airport recently. It has a giant "duty free" area with a big selection, but again it's mostly just common stuff at mediocre prices with pushy salesmen. The most interesting thing they had was 2x 1L bottles of Ocho reposado for $135. If you do the math that's a pretty good price per mL, but not smoking hot or anything.

The guys there pushed me toward two different things they said were "only sold in Mexico" - 1921 and Revolucion. Revolucion in particular seems like it might be interesting, given its NOM (1123), which makes a lot of high quality stuff. The NOM for 1921 is less interesting, it looks like a contract distillery that just makes a bunch of random unremarkable stuff. I don't remember the exact prices but they didn't seem like a bargain compared to the price for quality stuff here.

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46 minutes ago, SmokeyTheBear said:

Puerto Morelos and Isla majures

Can't speak to Puerto Morelos.  I think there's a tequila shop near the main square in town that focuses on tequila.  See if they can help.  

Also, might be worth to check out Chedraui - https://www.tasteofisla.com/chedraui - I don't know if prices are any good.  

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Chedraui will usually have the best prices but not much of a selection. Check out a La Europea store in Cancun or Playa if you want a good selection.

And as mentioned, prices really aren't that much different here vs there, except for the really good stuff. Avoid duty free stores.

I got some Herradura Seleccion Suprema Tequila at Sam's Club there for $150 a few years ago; it goes for $340 at Total Wine.

You can check prices online.

https://www.chedraui.com.mx/

https://www.laeuropea.com.mx/

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19 hours ago, rage-a-holic said:

Chedraui will usually have the best prices but not much of a selection. Check out a La Europea store in Cancun or Playa if you want a good selection.

And as mentioned, prices really aren't that much different here vs there, except for the really good stuff. Avoid duty free stores.

I got some Herradura Seleccion Suprema Tequila at Sam's Club there for $150 a few years ago; it goes for $340 at Total Wine.

You can check prices online.

https://www.chedraui.com.mx/

https://www.laeuropea.com.mx/

...and to be honest, the place to go to town on tequila/mezcal is Mexico City.  

BTW... just checked Los Danzantes... last time I went there, I paid about $55 for this... not anymore. 

It is glorious, though but that pricing... 

https://mezcallosdanzantes.com/product/mezcal-los-danzantes-pechuga/

In case you're curious... https://www.mezcalreviews.com/filter-by/nom/o14x/ 

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9 hours ago, texasdago said:

...and to be honest, the place to go to town on tequila/mezcal is Mexico City.  

Agree.  For mezcal, try MisMezcales in Roma Sur.  It’s a cool, small boutique store that has many varieties of mezcal.  I believe @GreenspointTexas recommended the shop on this thread before my trip in ‘22.  I bought three bottles there, two to take back home and one to make cocktails with before going out to dinner.  
One thing I love about Mexico is a lot of the markets have stands that sell freshly squeezed fruit juice.  The whole market smelled of grapefruit so we got some of that juice along with lime and cucumber (probably a little sugar added).  Nothing better than fresh, squeezed fruit juice on vacation; with or without booze.
 

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10 minutes ago, Mac8111 said:

Open question to the tequila drinkers here. Does being “additive free” make a difference to you on what brand you buy ?

To me, it's like buying flavored vodka or gin. If you like the taste, why not?

I like the flavor of Abandonado Extra Anejo, even though I know it has additives. I don't mix it with anything.

If I'm making margaritas or ranch water, I just want a plain low additive silver tequila.

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12 minutes ago, Mac8111 said:

Open question to the tequila drinkers here. Does being “additive free” make a difference to you on what brand you buy ?

Oh man. Since I first started getting into tequila about a year ago, I've read a shitload about the additive free thing, and I've definitely got some thoughts.

The short answer for me is "yes". For me personally, I want to try everything, but there's just so much out there that that's just not possible. So I do tend to buy AF, almost exclusively in fact. My theory is that it's both a decent indicator of producers that are putting a little more care into their product and using more traditional methods, as well as tending to be smaller producers rather than global behemoths. Those are blanket statements that aren't always true, of course, but the bottom line is that I have to start somewhere.

That being said, I find the AF "movement" to be very dogmatic, occasionally to the point of being offputting. I'm talking mostly about the tequila subreddit, which is the only other place that I read/post about tequila. There are quite a few people there (not all, but probably a majority) that subscribe to the belief that additive free necessarily equals good stuff and anything with additives is trash, not worthy of the drain. I have two big problems with that. Number 1, it stifles discussion. That subreddit is boring as fuck, because it's the same 10 blancos being recommended and talked about over and over again. They may as well post a list at the top that says "buy El Tesoro, G4, Ocho, Cascahuin, etc" and shut it down. Novices that come along and say they like Casamigos or whatever get shit on. Questioning the status quo of discussion there gets you shouted down immediately.

The even bigger problem I have is that I strongly, strongly suspect that "AF = good, additives = trash" isn't even true. I would bet that there are plenty of tequilas out there that are carefully made by thoughtful people using traditional methods who also happen to use some additives to achieve a certain flavor profile or provide consistency across batches and years. I don't see what's wrong with that, honestly. They're not breaking any rules, it's all right there in the regulations. There are probably also plenty of tequilas on the market that don't use additives, or use them sparingly or only occasionally, that aren't "certified" AF. Just off the top of my head I can think of a handful of reasons why a producer might not be interested in participating.

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PSA: Spec's is having a sale on tequila and mezcal for the entire month of May. I stopped in a small location in Houston today and didn't see anything scorching hot, but it might be worth a look.

I asked the guy working there if it was the same bottles on sale all month, or if it was going to rotate. He looked at me like I was speaking Mandarin Chinese, so who knows.

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1 hour ago, tokamak said:

PSA: Spec's is having a sale on tequila and mezcal for the entire month of May. I stopped in a small location in Houston today and didn't see anything scorching hot, but it might be worth a look.

I asked the guy working there if it was the same bottles on sale all month, or if it was going to rotate. He looked at me like I was speaking Mandarin Chinese, so who knows.

That's Spec's for you

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On the whole, when buying agave spirits…..

 

100% agave distilled is a MUST

Any spirit that isnt completey colorless or clear is not worth the money (I dont believe in Anejo/Reposado agave spirits, but thats a convo for another time)

You absolutely want to buy additive free spirits

Distillates that are cut with water are pointless and inferior, for the most part. Look for abvs like 43% or 88 proof or 51% abv etc. If it has an abv like 47.56%, even better data point for quality, usually. No clue why anyone wouldnt just buy pure distillates, now that we are seeing a ton of them now on shelves in Texas. Why spend your money on “proofed” down spirits? Its strange to me, even with bourbons, cognacs, etc

 

 

Flame away. 

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36 minutes ago, GreenspointTexas said:

On the whole, when buying agave spirits…..

 

100% agave distilled is a MUST

Any spirit that isnt completey colorless or clear is not worth the money (I dont believe in Anejo/Reposado agave spirits, but thats a convo for another time)

You absolutely want to buy additive free spirits

Distillates that are cut with water are pointless and inferior, for the most part. Look for abvs like 43% or 88 proof or 51% abv etc. If it has an abv like 47.56%, even better data point for quality, usually. No clue why anyone wouldnt just buy pure distillates, now that we are seeing a ton of them now on shelves in Texas. Why spend your money on “proofed” down spirits? Its strange to me, even with bourbons, cognacs, etc

 

 

Flame away. 

I 100% agree with you on the ABV points, however, I'm a much bigger fan of Rep/Anejo spirits than silvers when it comes to tequila and mezcal.  I think the aging process creates an entire story in the consumption...like a good poem.  

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